By MicroSolved

Feb 17, 2010 - These days everyone is expected to do more with less.

As a Chief Information Officer (CIO) or IT Manager, you're expected to expand capabilities, embrace new technologies, increase operating efficiency, and keep it all secure.

MicroSolved, Inc. (MSI) has developed the 80/20 Rule of Information Security that proposes the concept that 80% of an organizations' real information security comes from only 20% of the assets and effort put into the program.

These 13 security projects will give your organization the most effective information security coverage for the least expenditure of time and resources.

According to the 2009 Data Investigations Breach Report by Verizon 285,000,000 records were compromised in 2008. How did this happen?

One of the biggest problems in security today is that organizations don't know enough about what they have.

80% of the compromises detailed in the report resulted from one or a combination of three things; unknown data or location of data, unknown network connections, and unknown access or privileges.

In order to defend your environment you must know more about it.

Who are we defending against? Over 90% of the compromised records that Verizon details were from organized crime.

The true threat does not come from teenage hackers with nothing better to do. It comes from sophisticated organizations that are looking to make a profit.

However, it's getting a bit more difficult for them to do so. The value of personal data (social security numbers, etc) is decreasing rapidly because it's easy to obtain.

Corporate secrets are the latest moneymaker. Source code, schematics, and blue prints are a few examples of what attackers are attempting to locate and sell to the highest bidder.

The most effective way to secure your environment is to know it. But where do you start? These projects, once completed, should allow CIO's to create an effective, efficient, and standards-based approach to information security.